Antarctic History, Humanities, and Social Science Workshop

Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, May 20-23, 2015

Antarctica: An historical point of view from the

Latin-American perspective
Waldemar Fontes
wfontes@iau.gub.uy

Abstract
The history of the Antarctica has been written mainly from the Anglo-Saxon point
of view. However, when going deeply in the investigation of the discovery and
exploration, we can notice the importance of the participation and support from many
people and institutions based in the Southern regions.
Aware on that, in 1992, some independent researchers formed the Group of LatinAmerican Antarctic Historians in order to investigate and produce knowledge on the
history of Antarctica from a different perspective.
The Group objectives are:
To optimize the information exchange among its members
Encourage the Antarctic historical research in their respective countries
Share progress of historical research on issues that are common
Encourage the historical research in order to get a Latin-American point of view
of the Antarctic history.
The Group has been convened regularly since 1992. The last meeting was held in
Montevideo in 2014 and the next edition will be held in Chile in September 2015.
This work presents a summary on the fourteen editions of the Meeting, a brief of
their conclusions and the invitation to participate in the future.

Author Brief biography

Waldemar Fontes is an independent investigator in Antarctic History. He is working
as an Advisor in outreach, culture and education in the Uruguayan Antarctic Institute.
He has been related to the Uruguayan Antarctic Expeditions since 1999.
See more information on www.researchgate.net/profile/Waldemar_Fontes

Waldemar Fontes
wfontes@iau.gub.uy

Antarctic History, Humanities, and Social Science Workshop

Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, May 20-23, 2015

Antarctica: An historical point of view from the

Latin-American perspective
Waldemar Fontes
wfontes@iau.gub.uy

Introduction
The Encounter of Antarctic Historians was promoted by the First Meeting of the
Latin-American Antarctic Programs Managers (RAPAL as named in Spanish), held in
Buenos Aires in 1990 as a proposal to interest their members in the rescue of its own
Antarctic history.
In 1992 the first meeting was held at Hope Base (Argentina). Following
meetings were then happened in Lima (Peru) in 1994 in Punta Arenas (Chile) in 1996;
in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) in 1999; Marambio Base and Ushuaia (Argentina) in 2000; in
Punta Arenas (Chile) in 2001; in Montevideo (Uruguay) in 2003; in Guayaquil
(Ecuador) in 2004, in Lima (Peru) in 2005, in Buenos Aires (Argentina) in 2008.
At the beginning the meetings were conducted at the request of the Permanent
Secretariat created at the 1992s meeting at Hope Base.
In 2008, in Buenos Aires, the Members of RAPAL decided not to integrate
anymore the Encounter of Historians to their regular meetings, and then the Group
began to work independently.
In 2011, the Group joined in Uruguay and adopted the decision to name them as
Latin-American Antarctic Historians, and convened for the following encounters held in
Chile in 2012, in Ushuaia, Argentina in 2013, and in Uruguay in 2014.
The objectives of the Group have been:

To optimize the information exchange among its members

Encourage the Antarctic historical research in their respective countries
Share progress of historical research on issues that are common
Encourage the historical research in order to get a Latin-American point of view
of the Antarctic history.

1992: The First Meeting

That encounter was took place at Hope Base, (Argentina) and it was organized
by the Argentine National Antarctic Institute from 17th to 24th November 1992, in
commemoration of the year of the 500 Anniversary of the Discovery of America and
the Encounter of Two Worlds.
The First Encounter was named as `Meeting of Iberian-American Antarctic
Historians and the program included seventeen papers presented by authors coming
from Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Spain and Uruguay. i
As an extra activity, a visit to the Swedish archaeological hut Dr Andersson for
issuing Dr Nordensjld, and a hike to the area of Three Lakes were performed.
1994: The Second Meeting
It was organized by the Institute for Maritime Historical Studies of Peru, in
collaboration with the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Lima, held at the
headquarters of the same in the city, between 20th and 22th July 1994.
Waldemar Fontes
wfontes@iau.gub.uy

Antarctic History, Humanities, and Social Science Workshop

Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, May 20-23, 2015

The program included fifteen papers presented by authors coming from

Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Italy, Peru, Spain and Uruguay. ii
As an extra activity, it was visited the Peruvian National Museum, the Naval
Hydrographic Service of Peru and a private collection of Peruvian art.
1996: The Third Meeting
Organized by the Chilean Antarctic Institute, and conducted with the
cooperation of the University of Magallanes, at the Antarctic Southern Center based in
Punta Arenas, between 21 and 24 October 1996.
The program included eighteen papers presented by authors coming from
Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, France, Peru, Spain and Uruguay. iii
The participants adopted the following recommendation:
The Third Meeting of Antarctic Iberian-American History, considering the
historical and cultural value of the remains and other existing facilities in the Antarctic
Continent: 1st) Expresses its appreciation to the Governments of Chile, Argentina and
Spain, for their efforts to recover and to value these materials remains found in South
American Antarctic quadrant, 2nd) Recommends the government of Chile, take measures
and relevant actions to conserve facilities at Whalers Bay, in Deception Island, which
has already been declared a historical monument in the XIX Antarctic Treaty
Consultative Meeting and to locate and recover the ancient cemetery of the settlement.
As an extra activity, the participants visited Bulnes Fort and Hunger Port. Also,
they were transported to the Frei Base in Antarctica by a Chilean Hercules airplane.
1999: The Fourth Meeting
It was celebrated in conjunction with the X RAPAL meeting, in Rio de Janeiro,
Brasil, from 25th to 29th October 1999. iv
According to the Closing Act, it was named as Fourth Conference of the
Meeting of Iberian-American Antarctic Historians, and it expressed that Sessions were
developed in the Navy Cultural Space, thanks to the support provided by the Navy of
Brazil, through Admiral Max Justo Guedes.
This meeting was attended by representatives coming from Argentine, Chile,
Peru and Uruguay. All the works were conducted under the coordination of the
Argentinian representative, Dr. Ricardo Capdevila and by Ms Cristina Montalban
(Uruguay), who acted as Secretary.
At the end of the meeting, the papers presented were evaluated on its
significance as a contribution to the Iberian-American Antarctic History, considering
the importance to publish them for further dissemination and diffusion.
2000: The Fifth Meeting
Organized by the Antarctic National Direction of Argentina, the Fifth Meeting
of Iberian-American Antarctic Historians was held at Marambio Base and in Ushuaia,
Argentine in October 2000. v
The Antarctic National Direction through the Argentinian Antarctic Institute and
Argentinian Air Force, hosted the meeting as requested by the Permanent Secretariat of
the Encounter of Iberian-American Antarctic Historians, supporting the idea to keep
alive the knowledge of the common past, linking researchers to continue the objectives
proposed in the 1992 first meeting.
Waldemar Fontes
wfontes@iau.gub.uy

Antarctic History, Humanities, and Social Science Workshop

Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, May 20-23, 2015

The program included twenty two papers presented by authors coming from
Argentina, Chile, Peru, United Kingdom and Uruguay.
The Marambio Foundation also supported the encounter and cooperate
publishing at its web page, documentation and pictures of the event.
A booklet in Spanish was published lately, with a summary on all papers of the
encounter. vi
2001: The Sixth Meeting
It was organized in conjunction with the XII RAPAL meeting, held in Punta
Arenas, Chile in September 2001. vii
There were twelve representatives coming from Argentine, Brazil, Chile and
Uruguay. The permanent Secretariat was conducted by Dr Ricardo Capdevila as
coordinator and by Ms Cristina Montalban as Secretary.
The Closing Act of the Encounter was included in the Final Document of the XII
RAPAL.
The participants concluded that the meeting was enriching them and highlighted
was the topic related to the importance that the historians encounter was linked to the
RAPAL meetings, and also that the papers presented contributed to build a historic
perspective, no yet known.
2003: The Seventh Meeting
It was organized in conjunction with the XIV RAPAL meeting, held in
Montevideo, Uruguay in September 2003. viii
There were thirteen papers, presented by representatives coming from Argentine,
Chile, Peru and Uruguay. The permanent Secretariat was conducted by Dr. Ricardo
Capdevilla as coordinator and by Ms. Cristina Montalban as Secretary.
Dr. Capdevila mentioned the communication from the historian Mr. Bob
Headland, who was invited, but could not arrive due to his participation in a meeting at
South Georgia, by the time, expressing his excuses and best wishes to participants.
The report of the Historians encounter was including in the final document of the
XIV RAPAL and from the conclusion we can summarize the following:
At first, to repeat the concept related to the importance of the continuity of the
Meeting of Iberian-American Antarctic Historians in conjunction with RAPAL regular
meetings as a permanent seminar.
Second, to think in the need to cooperate in the collection of documents and
studies related to the Antarctic policies from the different countries, trying to agree on
how to organize this job.
It was highlighted the importance of the rescue of the memories, personages and
events related to the history of each country, many of them not yet properly recognized.
As a complement, also was mentioned the necessity to convince the authorities
on the importance of the outreach and the social sciences in direct relation to the
Antarctic issues.

Waldemar Fontes
wfontes@iau.gub.uy

Antarctic History, Humanities, and Social Science Workshop

Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, May 20-23, 2015

2004: The Eighth Meeting

It was organized in conjunction with the XV RAPAL meeting, held in
Guayaquil, Ecuador from 22th to 24th September 2004. ix
Fifteen papers were presented by representatives coming from Argentine, Chile,
Ecuador, Peru and Uruguay. The permanent Secretariat was conducted by Dr. Ricardo
Capdevilla and by Ms Cristina Montalban as Secretary. The Moderator of the encounter
was Captain Mariano Sanchez Bravo from Ecuador.
Dr. Capdevila proposed to distribute at the end of the meeting, a CD with all the
papers presented to the encounter, proposal accepted by unanimity.
2005: The Ninth Meeting
It was organized in conjunction with the XVI RAPAL meeting, held in Lima,
Peru from 19th to 22th September 2005. x
Fourteen papers were presented by representatives coming from Argentine,
Chile, Ecuador, Peru and Uruguay. The Moderator of the encounter was Col. Marcelino
Alegria Amar, from Peru.
The permanent coordinator Dr. Ricardo Capdevila, presented the report of the
meeting to the Experts Group of the XVI RAPAL and he received the congratulations
from the authorities on a job well done by the historians.
The Report attached as Annex H to Final Document of the XV RAPAL,
included a proposal, unanimous agreed by the historians, to request the RAPAL Plenary
to authorize to address a formal communication to the SCAR History Committee in
order to inform them on the work of the Iberian-American Antarctic Historians group,
and their achievements as a contribution to the History of Antarctica, for the world
community.
A special request to the Plenary, was made in relation on the celebration of the
Antarctic Polar Year 2007-2008, in order to incentive the National Antarctic Programs
to support the research on Antarctic history and to publish the investigation results
according to the spirit of scientific cooperation expressed on the Antarctic Treaty.
By the end of the meeting were presented by Chilean delegates, Dr. Consuelo
Leon y Mr Mauricio Jara, two books related to their research on the Chilean
perspective, named (In Spanish) "Antrtica. Testimonios periodsticos. 1947-1957 and
"Convergencia Antrtica Los contextos de la Historia Antrtica Chilena, 1939-1949",
authored by them and by Jason K. Moore.
2008: The Tenth Meeting
It was organized in conjunction with the XIX RAPAL meeting, held in Buenos
Aires, Argentina from 1st to 3rd October 2008. xi
On 9th July 2008 passed away the impeller of the historian encounters, the
Argentinian Dr. Ricardo Capdevila. xii
Since the last meeting on 2005, the situation of complete support from the
RAPAL members changed considerably. In 2008 the meeting of the group of history,
appeared going to disappear.
For the XIX RAPAL, the group was convened just to prepare a declaration to
justify its presence as a permanent seminar of the RAPAL, and the majority of

Waldemar Fontes
wfontes@iau.gub.uy

Antarctic History, Humanities, and Social Science Workshop

Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, May 20-23, 2015

RAPALdelegates disagreed on continue to support the history group in the RAPAL

meeting.
In spite of the lack of official support, many historians participated in the
Encounter, and thirteen papers were presented by representatives coming from
Argentine, Chile, and Uruguay.
The Buenos Aires encounter was conducted and moderated by Col. Adolfo
Quevedo Paiva, from Argentine, accompanied by Ms. Cristina Montalban (Uruguay) as
Secretary.
The report on the encounter was presented to the RAPAL Plenary and even they
thanked the great job did by the historians until that moment; the decision was not to
support anymore the group of historians as a permanent seminary of RAPAL.
2011: The Eleventh Meeting
After a recess period some members of the group of historians, began to contact
each other and decided to organize a new encounter, even with no official support.
In view of the good reception of many of the former participants, it was
requested the Uruguayan Antarctic authorities to support the organization of a new
meeting, out of the RAPAL structures and it was authorized by Admiral Manuel
Burgos, President of the Uruguayan Antarctic Institute.
On that, the Navy Center of Historical Studies (CEHIS in Spanish) and the Civil
Association Antarkos, also supported the organization.
The 11 Meeting of Iberian-American Antarctic Historians was celebrated in
Playa Hermosa, Uruguay, on 24-25 November 2011, at Uruguayan Air Force Hostel. xiii
Fourteen papers were presented to this event, from participants coming from
Argentine, Chile, Uruguay and an invited from USA.
The Meeting was coordinated and moderated by Col, Waldemar Fontes, and
supported by Ms Cristina Montalban as Secretary.
At the meeting it was proposed the publication of a book related to the main
topics analyzed in the previous encounters.
At the end of the Meeting the participants decided to change the denomination
Iberian-American for Latin-American. Then the group convened a new meeting to
be held in Chile in 2012, under the new denomination of Latin-American Antarctic
Historians.
2012: The Twelfth Meeting
The meeting of the Latin-American Antarctic Historians (LAH), was held in
Pichidangui, Coquimbo Region, Chile from 25 th to 27th September 2012. It was
organized by the Center of Hemispheric and Polar Studies and supported by the
Foundation Valle Hermoso. xiv
The Coordinator and moderator was Mr. Mauricio Jara, supported by Dr.
Consuelo Leon-Wopke and Col. Carlos Villalon.
There were presented 26 papers, a visual art exhibition and five books, by the
participants coming from Argentine, Chile and Uruguay.
The frequency of the meetings was discussed, and the general consensus was to
maintain it annually in order to keep the interest in the topic, trying to involve more
Waldemar Fontes
wfontes@iau.gub.uy

Antarctic History, Humanities, and Social Science Workshop

Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, May 20-23, 2015

investigators, not only from history, but also from other sciences, particularly the social
sciences, focusing in the education and outreach.
2013: The XIII MLAH
The XIII encounter (XIII MLAH) was organized by the Maritime Museum in
the Presidium of Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina from 28 to 30 October 2013. It
was declared of Provincial Interest by the local authorities and many organizations
supported the event. xv
The convener was Mr. Carlos Vairo, Director of the Maritime Museum, and he
also was the general coordinator.
There were presented 36 papers, documental movies, art exhibitions, and book
presentations by the participants coming from Argentine, Chile, Ecuador, Peru and
Uruguay.
Mr. Carlos Vairo produced an allegorical medal, commemorative of the XIII
MLAH, and it was distributed to the participants.
In the XIII MLAH, the book Esbozando la historia antrtica latino
Americana (In Spanish) was presented, edited by Dr. Consuelo Len-Wokpe and Dr.
Mauricio Jara, from Chile, with a selection of papers presented by participants on
meetings of the group, from 1999 to 2011, as a contribution to the history of Antarctica
from the Latin-American point of view. xvi
The participation of paper expositors, authorities and public, was a record
compared with the previous meetings, and it became in challenge for the organization of
next editions of the MLAH.
2014: The XIV MLAH
It was organized in Montevideo, Uruguay, from 1st to 3rd October 2014 in the
ANTEL Communications Tower Conferences Center. It was organized by the Public
Relationship Dept. of the Uruguayan Antarctic Institute, with the cooperation of the
Civil Association Antarkos. xvii
The meeting was convened by the Secretariat General of the MLAH, and the
moderator was Col. Waldemar Fontes supported by Ms. Cristina Montalban as
Secretary.
There were twenty nine papers presented by the participants, coming from
Argentine, Chile and Uruguay, including research papers, book presentations, and
educational resources exhibitions.
At the final Assembly, it was agreed to accept the proposal of Chile to organize
the XV MLAH in Santiago, in September 2015.
Dr Mauricio Jara, was appointed by the group as the Secretary General for the
XV MLAH organization and the following topics, were suggested for the preparation of
papers:
To investigate, particularly in Chile and Uruguay, information related to the
rescue of the Shackleton Expedition in 1916, in order to prepare a publication on the
history of Antarctica, from the Latin-American point of view, for the Centenary of the
achievement.
To promote the XV MLAH work on papers related to the topic Latin-American
Antarctic Thought
Waldemar Fontes
wfontes@iau.gub.uy

Antarctic History, Humanities, and Social Science Workshop

Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, May 20-23, 2015

It was agreed to present a summary of the XIV MLAH to the SCAR History
Expert Group and to invite the SCAR History Expert Group members to participate in
the XV MLAH.
The 2015 edition of the MLAH
At the moment of the preparation of this paper it was already delivered the first
call for papers to be presented at the XV MLAH, to be held in Santiago, Chile from
23th to 25th September 2015.
The event is being organized by the Center of Hemispheric and Polar Studies
and supported by the Foundation Valle Hermoso.
The convener is Dr Mauricio Jara, and you can download the first call (In
Spanish and English) at: http://www.hemisfericosypolares.cl/CIRCULAR_1_2015.pdf
Conclusions
The meetings were originated by the need to understand the history of the
discovery and exploration of the Antarctica from a local perspective.
From the first meeting convened in 1992, to the ninth meeting held in Peru in
2005 it was a progressive interest in the parties of the RAPAL, to include the history as
an important aspect of their convocation, collecting during that period a valuable
volume of information on the topic.
It was also a plan to prepare specific research for the celebration of the
International Polar Year 2007-2008, however after 2005, everything changed.
The impulse given by Dr. Ricardo Capdevila, was very important during the
years described above, and after his death was difficult to restore the spirit of IberianAmerican perspective.
During the XIX RAPAL meeting held in Buenos Aires in 2008, the group of
history was convened, but just to be declared out of the official organization of RAPAL.
That could be a final sentence for the group, although the seeds of Dr. Capdevila
were there and new ideas starts to germinate, as it happen in 2011, when the group
convened in Uruguay for a new beginning, changing the Iberian-American conception,
for the Latin-American point of view.
After the encounter of 2011, the following meeting increased the quantity of
participants, and not only the history was considered as matter of study, but also the
social sciences and the humanities were included.
That has been moving in parallel with the evolution of the concept of what is to
be under study according the Antarctic Treaty regulations, and as recently it was created
a group of experts of SCAR (Scientific Committee of Antarctic Research) specifically
interested in Humanities and Social Sciencesxviii, the group is now moving on that
direction.
The history of Antarctica is unique, but can be interpreted in different ways.
The Latin-American point of view is one of the most important perspectives to
understand it, due to its geographical proximity, and also because of the participation of
the people in all instances, in the past, in the discovery and the exploration, and at
present in the administration under the Antarctic Treaty regime.

Waldemar Fontes
wfontes@iau.gub.uy

Antarctic History, Humanities, and Social Science Workshop

Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, May 20-23, 2015

To ensure the future of cooperation and brotherhood of the Antarctica is

necessary first, to understand its history.
.
.

Bibliography and more information

1. Center of Hemispheric and Polar Studies: www.hemisfericosypolares.cl/
2. Civil Association Antarkos: www.antarkos.org.uy/EHAL/
3. Maritime Museum of Ushuaia: www.museomaritimo.com/

NOTES
i

See more information on the First Meeting (Argentine, 1992) (In Spanish) at:
http://www.antarkos.org.uy/EHAL/antecedentes/reunion001.htm

ii

See more information on the Second Meeting (Peru, 1994) (In Spanish) at:
http://www.antarkos.org.uy/EHAL/antecedentes/reunion002.htm

iii

See more information on the Third Meeting (Chile, 1996) (In Spanish) at:
http://www.antarkos.org.uy/EHAL/antecedentes/reunion003.htm

iv

See more information on the Fourth Meeting (Brazil, 1999) (In Spanish) at:
http://www.antarkos.org.uy/EHAL/antecedentes/reunion004.htm

See more information on the Fifth Meeting (Argentine, 2000) (In Spanish) at:
http://www.antarkos.org.uy/EHAL/antecedentes/reunion005.htm

vi

Digital version of the booklet (In Spanish) is available at:

http://www.antarkos.org.uy/EHAL/docus-ehal/EHAI-librillo%20Marambio2000.pdf

vii

See more information on the Sixth Meeting (Chile, 2001) (In Spanish) at:
http://www.antarkos.org.uy/EHAL/antecedentes/reunion006.htm

viii

See more information on the Seventh Meeting ( Uruguay, 2003) (In Spanish) at:
http://www.antarkos.org.uy/EHAL/antecedentes/reunion007.htm

ix

See more information on the Eighth Meeting (Ecuador, 2004) (In Spanish) at:
http://www.antarkos.org.uy/EHAL/antecedentes/reunion008.htm

See more information on the Ninth Meeting (Peru, 2005) (In Spanish) at:
http://www.antarkos.org.uy/EHAL/antecedentes/reunion009.htm

xi

See more information on the Tenth Meeting (Argentine, 2008) (In Spanish) at:
http://www.antarkos.org.uy/EHAL/antecedentes/reunion010.htm

xii

The biography of Dr. Ricardo Capdevila. http://www.marambio.aq/fallcapdevilla.html

xiii

See more information on the Eleventh Meeting (Uruguay, 2011) (In Spanish) at:
http://www.antarkos.org.uy/EHAL/antecedentes/reunion011.htm

xiv

See more information on the Twelfth Meeting (Chile, 2012) (In Spanish) at:
http://www.antarkos.org.uy/EHAL/antecedentes/reunion012.htm

xv

See more information on the Thirteen Meeting (Argentine, 2013) (In Spanish) at:
http://www.antarkos.org.uy/EHAL/antecedentes/reunion013.htm

xvi

Esbozando la Historia Antrtica Latinoamericana. ENCUENTROS DE HISTORIADORES

ANTRTICOS LATINOAMERICANOS 1999-2011. Digital Edition of the book (In Spanish),
presented during the XIII MLAH held in Ushuaia, Argentine, in October 2013. Editor: Consuelo

Waldemar Fontes
wfontes@iau.gub.uy

Antarctic History, Humanities, and Social Science Workshop

Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, May 20-23, 2015

Len Wppke and Mauricio Jara Fernndez, ISBN: 978-956-8892-01-2 - LW Editor IAL Chile,
2013. http://historiadoresantarticos.blogspot.com/2013/11/esbozando-la-historia-antartica.html
xvii
xviii

See more information on the Fourteen Meeting (Uruguay, 2014) (In Spanish) at:
http://www.antarkos.org.uy/EHAL/EHAL2014/EHAL2014.htm
SCAR Humanities and Social Sciences Expert Group http://antarctica-ssag.org/

Waldemar Fontes
wfontes@iau.gub.uy